Cliveden House

Taplow

‘Expensive but worth every penny,’ say guests seduced by the ‘beautiful’ grounds, ‘stunning’ bedrooms, ‘superb’ meals and ‘attentive, personable’ staff at this history-rich Italianate mansion on the River Thames.

Ardanaiseig

Kilchrenan

The scene is pure theatre: the Scottish baronial mansion, built in 1834, with turrets, chimneys and crow-stepped gables, stands against a backdrop of Loch Awe. Inside, owner Bennie Gray, an antiques dealer, has filled the place with ‘eccentricity’ and ‘a pleasingly old-fashioned air of country house grandeur’.

Ballyvolane House

Castlelyons

There’s ‘an atmosphere of warm hospitality’ and ‘a genuine sense of welcome’ at Justin and Jenny Green’s historic, family-friendly country house in the North Cork countryside, say Guide inspectors in 2016.